How to Care of Your New Dental Crown

Dental crowns do a remarkable job of repairing damaged teeth, brightening your smile, and letting you enjoy your favorite foods. But they require thoughtful care if you want to prolong their life.

At Hudgens Dental, Roy Hudgens, DMD, specializes in restorative dentistry, including improving dental health with beautiful crowns. Here, he explains how to care for a new dental crown.

Avoid hard or sticky foods

Permanent crowns are strong. However, like the rest of your teeth, a crown can crack, break, or loosen if you eat hard or sticky foods. 

Items to avoid include:

• Ice cubes
• Popcorn kernels
• Hard candies
• Thick, firm bread crust
• Hard nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, and Brazil nuts)

Sticky foods such as taffy and caramel can also be hazardous. They can loosen your crown and possibly pull it off. You should also be careful with any tough food like beef jerky.

Getting in the habit of thinking before chewing protects your crown from healthy foods that put extra pressure on it. For example, don’t quickly bite into a large, raw carrot. Instead, cut it into small pieces that you can easily chew.

Tweak your daily dental hygiene

You care for your crown the same way you care for your other teeth, with flossing and twice-daily brushing. However, you may need to tweak your dental hygiene habits to extend the life of your crown.

Here are three tips to follow:

1. Use gentle products

A gentle, soft-bristled brush and non-abrasive toothpaste clean your crown without damaging its surface. Brush twice daily using a circular motion, reaching all the crown’s surfaces and the gum line.

2. Be careful when flossing

Flossing is vital because it’s the only way to eliminate food particles, bacteria, and plaque stuck in the narrow space between your crown and the adjacent teeth.

Floss the same way, sliding the floss between the teeth and using a gentle up-and-down movement along the tooth and under the gum.

However, the floss can catch on the top of the crown if you pull down when flossing between the crown and gum. Make sure the floss is away from the top of the crown before pulling down. Or, release one side of the thread and pull it straight out instead of down.

You can also switch to a water flosser. The water won’t loosen a permanent crown and does a great job of eliminating food and bacteria.

3. Use an antibacterial mouthwash

If you don’t already use an antibacterial mouthwash, you may want to add it to your dental hygiene routine after getting a crown. 

Bacteria can easily get trapped around a dental crown. A bacteria-fighting mouthwash gives you an added layer of protection from gum disease.

Keep up with dental checkups

During routine checkups, we ensure your crown is in good shape. We also watch for signs of gum infections and concerns like teeth grinding that damages teeth and loosens dental crowns.

Reach out if you have concerns

If you have questions about caring for your dental crown or are worried it’s loose or damaged, don’t hesitate to seek help.

The Hudgens Dental team can provide answers and protect your dental health. Connect through online booking or call the office to schedule an appointment as soon as you need help with your crown.